Every da*n year there’s so much hype about the “U”, but nothing happens.
The hype "every **** year" comes from the media, as Miami is a national brand and is good for business to hype—even when undeserved.
Again, you're a Clemson fan and you're on a Miami page asking when the Canes are going to be good—which means you follow the sports media that tells you that UM is going to be "back"—and then celebrates when Miami isn't, as it's great business to trash a failing UM program nationally, as well.
Miami as a private school with a limited budget literally didn't have money until a few boosters got busy in the NIL era and went heavy in the paint starting in December 2021, when Diaz was paid to go away and Cristobal was hired.
Everything before that over the past 20 years was meaningless and full of false starts, due to an anti-football, liberal president with a kill-what-you-eat approach to athletics. Donna Shalala was at the head of UM from 2001 through 2015 and she saw football as a necessary evil, proven by her cheap, low-rent, lazy hires—Shannon and Golden both hired on her watch, while she kept Coker around years too long, as he as a nice guy who kept players out of trouble.
This program went in the tank after Butch Davis left in January 2001—Coker winning for a few years with Butch's talent and recruiting dropping off by 2003.
Shalala moved Miami to the ACC for money and the conference TV deal and over to Nike from adidas for the same reason; again, kill what you eat—this was as much money that was invested into football—TV revenue and apparel sponsorships.
Larry Coker — 2001 through 2006 — 35-3 out the gate. Should've won two national titles. Got one. Went 25-12 his final three years, never reached the BCS again, saw the talent drop-off and wen 7-6 his final season.
Randy Shannon — 2007-through 2010 — Low-rent hire when nobody else wanted the job as Miami was toxic at the time (FIU brawl and Bryan Pata murder in 2006). UM had a shot to bring back Davis before he took the UNC gig, but dragged out Coker firing. Shalala also wasn't a Davis fan so doubtful that would've even happened if timing lined up. Instead, a first-time head coach in Shannon, who was an introvert and a lifer-position coach who didn't have the demeanor to be CEO and build the program.
Al Golden — 2011 through 2015 — Another low-rent hire in a supposed "up and comer" from Temple, who was an empty suit that talked a good game but proved off-brand with his Penn State style of slow, laborious football. Had some recruiting success but put players in the wrong system and poorly developed them. Went through nightmare NCAA investigation from his first season through year three.
Mark Richt — 2016 through 2018 — Alum who rolled in on fumes from 15 years in the SEC and almost getting Georgia over the hump. Started to get infrastructure in place with donation for indoor practice facility and worked behind scenes to lay a better football foundation, but Richt proved stubborn with his dated offense, showed nepotism keeping his son of staff, and hung it up after year three as he knew he didn't have it in the tank to take on this complete reclamation project. Had an overachieving 2017 with an average quarterback and senior-heavy squad that pulled off a 10-0 start (that could've easily have been 6-4 without some breaks) but a great team this was not. Just good enough to beat who they should've beat. Wheels off the following season with 7-6 run before Richt stepped down.
Manny Diaz — 2019 through 2021 — Total fraud that was another political and cheap hire (outside of the ridiculous $4M that UM embarrassingly paid Temple to retain his services). Knee-jerk, lazy hire to bring back the defensive coordinator who had one good season and came up with the silly chain. No search to land a better candidate; went cheap with another first-time head coach and fifth safe hire in a row.
All this to say, why should Miami have had any legitimate hype until Mario Cristobal was given an $80M contract and brought in from a successful run at Oregon, while UM also parted ways with lame-duck AD Blake James and poached Dan Radakovich from Clemson?
The clock has been ticking for 14 months and the product on the field sucked last year, as the roster sucked, the culture sucked and a bunch of beta, grit-less players who didn't want to work hard wound up going 5-7.
Cristobal has to clean up a disaster of a program Diaz left behind and it's going to take him at least three year to do so.
Let's see where this Miami program is around 2024-2025 because if they're not "living up to the hype" in years three and four under Mario, then we have a problem—but anything that's taken place the past almost two decades was manufactured hype from a national media that loves to play the "Is Miami Back??" card as it gets UM fans hooting and hollering, while it gets rivals seething—and when the Canes inevitably crash and burn, more media fodder and piling on from outsiders.
Wash, rinse, repeat.
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